My name is Maria and i got into a lot of debt before being diagnosed as bipolar by my GP 5 years ago which was when i got help. My debt rose to £50,000 between loans, credit & store cards and overdrafts all within a 3 year period as my mental state deteriorated. I can’t say when it started exactly because it was a slow, increasingly depressive feeling which took a number of years to fully take hold of me. I found myself taking out loans just to pay for material items…

I have to admit I have always liked the finer things in life but in my defence I also knew the importance of working hard and not living on credit. While I can’t admit to being the best saver in my family or even circle of friends I have always made sure to not to live on credit but some how that changed. I’m not sure exactly when or even how but gradually over a period of about 2 years I started to use more and more credit cards and…

I found myself in around £15,000 of debt and every penny I earned just paid interest on my credit cards, forcing me to start borrowing to live each month. It began almost as soon as I turned 18 when I received a pre-approved credit card application through the door within days of my birthday. Even though I completed the application and got the credit card through the door as was promised, I never used it straight away. I waited 3 months and only used it to buy some Christmas presents…